ARRL General Bulletin ARLB011 (2001)

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ARLB011 Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act Introduced In Senate
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ARRL Bulletin 11 ARLB011
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT March 23, 2001
To all radio amateurs
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ARLB011 Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act Introduced In Senate
The Senate version of the Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of
2001, introduced earlier this month in the US House, now is
officially S.549. Republican Sen Michael Crapo of Idaho introduced
the bill in the US Senate March 15.
Democratic Sen Daniel Akaka of Hawaii was a cosponsor. The bill has
been referred to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Committee. In introducing the Senate measure again this year, Crapo
and Akaka referred to the importance of Amateur Radio in providing
communication in times of disaster
S.549 is identical in its wording to H.R.817, introduced in the
House of Representatives March 1 by Rep Michael Bilirakis of
Florida. If approved by both chambers and signed by Pres George W.
Bush, the Spectrum Protection Act would require the FCC to provide
equivalent replacement spectrum should it ever reallocate primary
Amateur Radio spectrum to another service. The same requirement
would apply if the FCC acted to diminish any secondary amateur
allocations or to make additional allocations in ham bands that
diminish their utility.
Bilirakis and Crapo introduced the Spectrum Protection Act in a past
session of Congress at the request of the ARRL. The League's
Legislative and Public Affairs Manager Steve Mansfield, N1MZA, says
he's encouraged by the fact that the Spectrum Protection bill is
getting a head start with early introduction in both chambers this
time around.
More information on the Spectrum Protection Act, including the full
text of the bills, is available on the ARRL Web site,
http://www.arrl.org/govrelations/arspa.html .
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